1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for increasing and decreasing the spacing between two or more objects.
2. Description of Related Art
Graphical user interfaces, or xe2x80x9cGUIsxe2x80x9d as they are often designated, have become an increasingly common and popular feature of computers, especially personal computers (PCs). One of the many advantages of such GUIs is that they allow a user to create and edit documents and structures in a graphical manner by selecting and manipulating graphical display elements, such as icons, usually with a pointing device, such as a mouse. The Apple Macintosh user interface, Microsoft Windows operating environment, and UNIX X-Windows are common and very popular examples of GUIs, illustrating the fact that the advantages of GUIs over conventional text-based user interfaces are widely recognized.
Graphics software is one area, which benefits from GUIs. Graphics software applications, which allow users to create and edit drawings and illustrations, provide users with an environment in which the editable document resembles the form it will take on the printed page, world wide web (WWW) document, etc. This is referred to as xe2x80x9cwhat you see is what you getxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cWYSIWYG.xe2x80x9d Commonly, a user may select to have a grid or ruler displayed to guide in the placement of graphical objects on the display screen. Frequently, the drawing or illustration dictates that objects be placed along a line on the display screen. For the purpose of uniformity, symmetry, or neatness of presentation, the positions of these objects in relation to one another may be important, particularly when an equal distance between objects is desired. Current graphics software applications do not allow the user to easily set the positions of a plurality of objects in relation to one another.
In word processing, xe2x80x9ckerningxe2x80x9d is the adjustment of text that involves slightly decreasing or increasing the amount of space between any two adjacent letters. Kerning is usually performed to improve the overall appearance of text. The amount of kerning depends on the font design and the specific pair of letters.
Currently, graphical software applications do not allow a user to easily adjust the amount of space between any two or more graphical objects, because the positions of the objects are independent. Furthermore, graphical objects do not always lie along a horizontal or vertical line. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a technique for kerning graphical objects along a horizontal, vertical, or angled line.
The present invention solves the disadvantages of the prior art by allowing the user to select a plurality of graphical objects on a display screen and select or enter the distance between the objects. The distances are kerned or increased or decreased between the selected objects according to the input of the user.